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This report from the Daily Mail may have slipped a little under the radar. The Hammers’ potential move for Carl Jenkinson is not exactly a ground-breaking story, but tapped on the end is talk of a trial for a highly-rated youngster who goes by the name of Daniel Agyei. The 17-year-old has been earning rave reviews for his showings in AFC Wimbledon’s youth ranks, where his talent has been becoming more and more obvious as the months pass.

But any West Ham fans wanting to know more about this teenager have been left bitterly disappointed. After all, he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page! But we’ve delved into the far reaches of the internet to find out a little more about this young lad, and here are our findings…

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Prolific striker

Although AFC Wimbledon’s youth set-up gets very little attention, Agyei’s exploits have generated quite a bit of hype. Goal returns from young players can be a little misleading – just look at Cherno Samba – but the teenager’s exploits are very impressive. Despite his tender age he’s already netted six for his side’s U-21 set-up, while 29 in his own age range, U-18s, shows that he’s got a fair amount of talent!

Very skilful

From the bits of footage there are of Agyei (most of which is not quite Sky Sports quality!) it’s clear the youngster’s game is about pace, power and skills. The forward has a solid frame and appears to be lightening quick across the turf, and while both characteristics are a good foundation, he matches his physicality with flashy skills and good technique. His approach may be a bit raw right now, but his ability to bamboozle defenders at his current level is impressive.

Has been attracting the ‘big boys’ for a while…

While West Ham appear to be the side most willing to offer Agyei a step up, there has been attention directed towards the teenager from other top clubs. Championship outfit Fulham are thought to have been paying close attention to his development, while Chelsea have also been aligned with him. However, with the Dons down in League Two, the promise of a quick step up to the first-team may be enough to keep him in Kingston upon Thames.

West Ham have been watching him for some time

Breaking reports of West Ham’s willingness to offer Agyei a trial seem to be the result of some extensive monitoring of the player. Back in February is was claimed that the Hammers were watching the teen sensation, and now it looks as if they’re building on the scouting work put in.

Loves some fun on Twitter

Agyei seems like a very normal teenage boy. When he’s not tearing up youth football he loves getting involved in some ‘lolz’ on Twitter. His page is a stream of funny vines and memes, much like most young lads’ efforts. Here are some of the better ones:

According to reports in The Mirror’s live transfer blog at 7:23pm on December 20, Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on Lyon winger Maxwel Cornet, who has a £7m buy-out clause in his contract and has scored 24 goals in 116 games for the French club.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that Spurs are monitoring the 21-year-old carefully with a view to making a move for the forward in the future, although they could face competition for his signature from Borussia Dortmund.

Even though Erik Lamela has recently returned to action following a long injury lay-off, the north London outfit still don’t have many wide options and that is something that manager Mauricio Pochettino may look to put right either during the January transfer window, or next summer.

How has Cornet done this season?

The 21-year-old really burst on to the scene with Lyon during the two previous campaigns, and he has made a decent – if unremarkable – start to proceedings this term.

The winger has scored two goals and provided a further four assists in 21 appearances in all competitions – including the Europa League – with around half of those coming from the substitutes’ bench.

The Ivory Coast international has been more of a regular starter in Ligue 1 in recent weeks though, and according to WhoScored.com, he has successfully completed 12 of the 25 dribbles he has attempted in France and Europe this season, although the same website also lists one of his weaknesses as his crossing – not ideal for a wide-man.

Would he be a good signing for Tottenham?

If they could get him for £7m, then he certainly would be.

The 21-year-old certainly isn’t the finished article but with 16 goals and six assists in 83 Ligue 1 appearances for the Lyon, the potential is very much there.

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The winger – who can play on either flank – would add some much-needed pace to the Spurs frontline, but he would more likely be a substitute at first if he does move to north London anytime soon.

If Alexis Sanchez leaves Arsenal in the coming days, then the fans will need a big transfer boost.

Not only will they be losing their best player, but it will be at a time when things are going wrong on the pitch.

After Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, the Gunners dropped further in the race for top four.

The team are now seven points adrift of a Champions League spot, and they may have to finish the season without Sanchez.

The Guardian reports that the Chile international is closing in on a move to Manchester United after he did not travel with the Arsenal squad to Bournemouth.

As a replacement for the attacker, it seems that Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is on Arsene Wenger’s radar.

Bundesliga expert Lee Price has told The Express that the Gabon international has agreed a move to Arsenal, but the deal will only go through if Sanchez leaves.

Aubameyang did not feature for the German club over the weekend as he was dropped for disciplinary reasons – the second time this season.

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Arsenal fans have been having their say on the latest rumours.

According to Sky sources, Newcastle United have agreed to loan Aleksandar Mitrovic back to former club Anderlecht.

What’s the word?

Sky Sports’ North East correspondent Keith Downie alleged on Twitter this morning that Newcastle had reached an agreement with Anderlecht to loan them game-shy striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, provided they could seal a replacement in the form of Leicester City’s Islam Slimani. Well, it appears the Magpies have now got their man – something also reported by Sky Sports – suggesting Mitrovic will return to his former club before tonight’s deadline.

Why hasn’t it worked out at Newcastle?

The strange irony of this situation is that, in the eyes of many, Mitrovic has been the best strike option at Rafa Benitez’s disposal this season. He offers the height and power the Spaniard wants from his centre-forwards and his first Premier League season produced nine goals – an incredibly impressive return for a striker who was just 21 years old at the time.

But Benitez never felt like he could trust the Serbian international because of his discipline problems, sent off twice in his Magpies career, and has accordingly issued him just six Premier League appearances this season, all from the bench, equating to just 89 minutes’ worth of game-time. And the fact he’s not getting in the team despite Newcastle’s other strike options – Dwight Gayle, Joselu and Ayoze Perez – providing just nine league goals this term made it patently obvious the 23-year-old doesn’t feature in Benitez’s plans.

Have we seen the last of Mitrovic?

Mitrovic rejoins the club where he made his name with 44 goals in 90 appearances and his return to Anderlecht is rather symbolic of how the 6 foot 2 striker never reached his full potential on Tyneside. When he first joined Newcastle, he was seen as something of a coup after being linked with a number of big clubs from around Europe.

But it’s only a loan deal – most likely until the end of the season – and his contract will have another two years left to run come the summer. Perhaps Mitrovic is hedging his bets here; aware of the possibility that Benitez could well leave Newcastle at some point before next season, and that he could accordingly get another chance under a new manager.

Even if he doesn’t have a future at Newcastle though, we could well see Mitrovic in the Premier League again at some point. He’s well suited to the English game and despite the narrative of untapped potential, he’s still just 23 and remains Serbia’s main striker with 33 caps under his belt – including seven alone in 2017.

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Brighton have already failed with an £8million swoop for Mitrovic this month and if he’s made available in the summer, it wouldn’t be surprising for the Seagulls and other Premier League sides to come in for him. He still feels like a player who could be a real force in the Premier League under the right manager.

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As reported by The Daily Mail, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is insistent that the club should not be selling their top players like David De Gea at the end of the season.

What’s the story?

The paper report that the Spanish shot-stopper is number one of Madrid’s shortlist of potential goalkeeping signings this summer.

However, Jose Mourinho has poured cold water on a potential deal for Old Trafford favourite, believing selling their best players is a bad strategy if they want to continue signing the biggest and best players around.

As quoted by The Daily Mail, the Man United boss said:

Do you think a club that is trying to attract the best players is the club that is open to sell the best players? It makes no sense. ‘If you want to go to that level you have top attract the best players like we did with Alexis, Matic and Pogba and so on. And don’t let our best players go.

Can United hold on to the man rated at £45m by Transfermarkt, or are they destined to lose him to the La Liga giants eventually?

How important is he to United?

With 114 clean sheets in 300 matches for Manchester United, De Gea has proven to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world while at Old Trafford and will leave an impressive legacy whenever he does decide to leave the club.

It’s incredibly difficult to find goalkeepers that can produce such a high level of consistency over a long period of time and retaining De Gea should be seen as a big transfer priority over the next few transfer windows.

If United are ever going to challenge for major silverware once again, they need players like De Gea to pledge their long-term future to the club.

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He’s become a defensive rock at the club and losing him would undoubtedly cause instability at a critical time in the development of Jose Mourinho’s side.

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Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has claimed that he would rather have Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele in his team than Paul Pogba.

On Tuesday night, Dembele was one of the stars of the show for Spurs as he dominated the middle of the park, particularly in the second half of the team’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Juventus.

The North London outfit came from 2-0 down after 10 minutes to earn a 2-2 draw in Turin, and more importantly claim two away goals ahead of the return fixture at Wembley.

Dembele has struggled to perform consistently in matches due to fitness issues, but the 30-year-old has impressed of late.

Keane thinks that the Belgian is in much better form than United midfielder Paul Pogba, who has been unable to consistently prove that he is worth the £89m that the Red Devils paid to sign him in 2016.

In fact, manager Jose Mourinho has substituted the Frenchman in recent matches.

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From Keane’s perspective, Dembele is on top.

According to football.london, the former Irish footballer said during his stint as a Champions League pundit for ITV Sport:

“The lad [Mousa] Dembele at Spurs is streets ahead of [Paul] Pogba at the moment,” he said in his capacity as a Champions League pundit for ITV Sport. “I know who I’d have in my team.”

According to reports in The Independent, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has identified Real Madrid star Toni Kroos, rated at £72m according to Transfermarkt, as his top midfield transfer target this summer, and Red Devils fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.

The Independent says that Mourinho is keen to bring a new midfielder to Old Trafford at the end of the season with Paul Pogba struggling when he is asked to play alongside Nemanja Matic in a 4-2-3-1 system, and he believes the Germany international is the ideal addition.

The report adds that United have a long-standing interest in the 28-year-old having come close to signing him before he moved to the La Liga giants in 2014, and Real are now willing to make some high-profile sales this summer which could see Mourinho test the water with a bid for the pass-master.

Man United supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while one said “that would probably be the best midfield signing we can make”, another said “Toni Kroos is an absolute dream signing but not happening”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Never the quickest or most athletic of strikers during his younger years, at the age of 34 Glenn Murray is one of the Premier League’s wisest and wiliest old foxes.

The winning goal against Arsenal last weekend was poignantly symptomatic of the Brighton striker’s season; while the critical focus was mostly on how Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscienly failed to handle a largely routine ball into the box, the Gunners pair are by no means the only experienced Premier League centre-backs to underestimate Murray’s netting prowess this season.

Virgil van Dijk, Dejan Lovren, Winston Reid, Steve Cook and even Middlesbrough’s Ben Gibson, whose top flight performances last term earned rave reviews, have all been on the pitch to watch Murray find the net against them this season.

While not all belong to the bracket of truly world-class, most on paper would be expected to contain an ageing front-man with just 79 Premier League appearances under his belt from a whole career in English football.

But Murray’s defining gift remains his niche movement, and it’s a characteristic we’ve often seen from players who have spent significant chunks of their career in the Football League. Dele Alli, Rickie Lambert and Charlie Austin have all demonstrated a seemingly natural positional intelligence in the top flight to suggest its where they should have played their football all along.

Even then though, Murray’s movement is particularly exceptional, and it has played a hand in far more goals than his direct eleven in the top flight. Masterfully timing positive runs, his ability to draw away defenders has oft allowed Jose Izquierdo, Pascal Gross and Anthony Knockaert the space they need to aid Brighton’s survival hopes with goals from midfield as well.

There’s a clear ruggedness about those three aforementioned former non-leaguers too, a readiness if not eagerness to make their area of the pitch a physical battle, and Murray shares that trait as well. Inconceivably expensive Premier League defenders may be taller, stronger and quicker than him, but the Seagulls star always finds a way to hold his ground.

That was evident on Sunday as Murray won five aerial duels and three fouls to vitally bring his team up the pitch while Arsenal attempted to come back from two early concedes. And this isn’t the first instance of the veteran excelling in that manner against such lofty opposition either; during his Crystal Palace days, it was Murray who inspired a shock win over title-chasing Manchester City in 2015.

Making a mockery of Vincent Kompany’s reputation as one of the best and most physical centre-halves in the world, Murray scored the opener, won an incredible 10 aerial duels and seven fouls – probably his greatest performance to date in the Premier League. In both instances, those returns represent exceptional centre-forward play, not only affecting the scoreline but also the match by giving his team real footholds in the final third.

The big question now is whether Murray can once again silence those who underestimate him, amid rumours English football will soon throw another seemingly impossible challenge his way. The Sun claim, at the age of 34, Murray is now being considered for a shock England call-up as Gareth Southgate maps out his squad for coming friendlies with the Netherlands and Italy. He would be the oldest debutant since Kevin Davies got the nod against Montenegro in 2010.

The idea will make some scoff, but based on current form Murray is the leading choice for England’s fourth forward slot at the World Cup, with Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford seemingly nailed on to be part of Southgate’s strikeforce in Russia.

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Admittedly, that’s as much a consequence of the modest form of the many alternatives this season than Murray’s own returns, but the statistics speak for themselves and the only English players to score more top flight goals this term are Kane, Vardy and Raheem Sterling – another player nailed on to be in the squad, if not start the first game, when the summer tournament comes around.

Likewise, the usual suspects have all endured disappointing, disrupted seasons. Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge and Jermain Defoe have all suffered too many injury problems and accordingly failed to pick up enough minutes to justifiably take a place in the squad, while Tammy Abraham has run out of steam since being called up to the senior side back in November.

Suddenly, the candidates boil down to players like Charlie Austin and Callum Wilson, who have equally little international experience as Murray and haven’t produced to quite the same levels this season, and the eternally-mooted chaos option, Stoke’s towering 37-year-old Peter Crouch.

So, England fans, if you were in Southgate’s shoes, which striker would you take to Russia as the Three Lions’ fourth choice? Let us know by voting below…

Southampton sacked manager Mauricio Pellegrino on Monday night following a run of just one win in 17 Premier League matches that has left them in real danger of suffering relegation to the Championship.

Saints faced what looked to be must-win clashes against fellow strugglers Stoke City at St Mary’s and then Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday in their previous two top flight games, but they only took a point from a possible six.

The latest loss which saw the Argentine get the boot was the 3-0 loss against Rafa Benitez’s men, where some of the players looked to have given up, which was the final straw for the supporters and the club.

The comprehensive defeat in which they once again offered little from an attacking point of view has left them one point above the danger zone with eight matches of the campaign still to go – although three of those are against Arsenal, Chelsea and runaway leaders Manchester City.

While the majority of the south coast outfit’s squad may not be too upset to see the 46-year-old go judging by their performances at St James’ Park, there are some players that have found themselves out of favour this season that will be pleased about his exit and a chance to impress the new manager.

Here are three Southampton stars that will be particularly delighted by Pellegrino’s sacking…

McQueen has spent the whole season in and around the first team and fully fit, yet he has only played 126 minutes of first-team football across five Premier League appearances this term.

That will have been particularly frustrating for the 23-year-old given he made 23 appearances in all competitions for them during the previous campaign, as he looks to push on at St Mary’s.

The most confusing thing for McQueen under Pellegrino was the fact that he played really well as the south coast outfit drew 0-0 against Manchester United at Old Trafford on December 30, but he hasn’t featured in a single minute of top flight football since then.

While he has Ryan Bertrand ahead of him in the pecking order at left-back, McQueen can also play further forward and would have been frustrated to not be given an opportunity on the left wing when the likes of Sofiane Boufal, Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond have continually failed to produce the goods there.

The 2016 summer signing has struggled to make an impression ever since joining the club – he has four goals and a further three assists in 57 appearances in all competitions for the south coast – but he will have been more frustrated with how things have gone this season than last term.

The Morocco international had no pre-season when he first signed for Southampton and was always playing catch up, but the same can’t be said for this term and he was showing some glimpses of the quality he has during pre-season.

However, he was often in and out of the team under Pellegrino – often leaving Saints supporters confused as to why – and it stopped him getting any rhythm on the pitch.

Considering he has often seen the likes of Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic start ahead of him and do no more than he has previously, he will be hoping to start more consistently under the new manager.

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The Italy international looked as though he would be Southampton’s new goalscoring star when he netted six goals in his first four appearances for the club in early 2017, but he only has four in 36 outings since then.

Following a difficult start to the campaign the 26-year-old quickly found himself behind the likes of Charlie Austin and Shane Long in the pecking order, before the former picked up an injury that is still keeping him on the sidelines.

The club-record arrival of Guido Carrillo during the January transfer window only further limited his opportunities, and he has only made one Premier League start since December 16, and wasn’t brought into the XI after scoring the equaliser against Burnley last month much to the bemusement of the fans.

Gabbiadini will be hoping for better luck under the new boss in order to try and rediscover his touch and confidence in front of goal.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.

The causes of Manchester United’s malaise under Jose Mourinho are myriad and are a debate for a different day.

Nevertheless, it is hard to dispute that the standard of players across the squad is good enough to return the Red Devils to the top of English and European football.

Players such as Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are remnants of the Sir Alex Ferguson era who have not developed as planned, while signings such as Ander Herrera and Daley Blind are, you suspect, not up to scratch in the eyes of Mourinho.

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Among the talented players at the club, there is an undoubted imbalance as well. The squad lacks out and out wingers and certain players such as David De Gea and Nemanja Matic have become undroppable.

That has led Mourinho to the conclusion that he needs a summer clearout at Old Trafford, as per the Manchester Evening News. 

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That would be a huge development at Old Trafford and we’ve taken a closer look at the best of the fans’ reaction…